COVID-19, kovhidhi, dzihwamupengo: Language use, language change, and pandemic perceptions among Shona-speakers in Gweru, Zimbabwe
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i31.13995Keywords:
language, communication, semiotics, language change, pandemics, natural disasters, COVID-19, Shona, English, Gweru, ZimbabweAbstract
Through an examination of the linguistic practices encountered and used by Shona language-speakers in the Zimbabwean city of Gweru, this study explores intersections between language use, language change, and perceptions of the COVID pandemic—as caused by the virus referred to by Gweru’s Shona-speakers as, variously, “COVID-19” in its English-language representation or “kovhidhi” or “dzihwamupengo” in its two most common Shona-language representations. The study is anchored in conceptions of the impacts that natural disasters and pandemics have on language and on communication needs, and in theories of semiotics and language change. The research finds that the predominant terms used by Gweru’s Shona-speakers in relation to the pandemic carry connotations that, in the Zimbabwean socio-cultural context, potentially undermine optimal responses to the pandemic. The article concludes by emphasising the importance of careful management of language as a critical resource in the fight against natural disasters and pandemics.
References
Brandt, A. M., & Botelho, A. (2020). Not a perfect storm – COVID-19 and the importance of language. The New England Journal of Medicine, 382(16), 1493–1495. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2005032
Cardona, O. D. (2004). The need for rethinking the concepts of vulnerability and risk from a holistic perspective: A necessary review and criticism for effective risk management. In G. Bankoff, G. Frerks & D. Hilhorst (Eds.), Mapping vulnerability: Disasters, development and people (pp. 37–51). Routledge.
Cassim, J. (2020, March 18). Zimbabwe declares coronavirus “national disaster”. Anadolu Ajansı. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/zimbabwe-declares-coronavirus-national-disaster/1769900
Chatiza, K. (2019). Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe: An analysis of policy implications for post- disaster institutional development to strengthen disaster risk management. Oxfam. https://doi.org/10.21201/2019.5273
Chmutina, K., & von Meding, J. (2019). A dilemma of language: “Natural disasters” in academic literature. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 10, 283–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-019-00232-2
Chmutina, K., von Meding, J., & Bosher, L. S. (2019). Language matters: Dangers of the “natural disaster” misnomer. https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/online_resource/ Language_matters_Dangers_of_the_natural_disaster_misnomer/9460862
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. (4th ed.). SAGE.
Croke, K., Grossman, G., Larreguy, H. A., & Marshall, J. (2014). The effect of education on political participation in electoral authoritarian regimes: Evidence from Zimbabwe. Semantic Scholar.
Finocchiaro, M. (1964). English as a second language: From theory to practice. Simon and Schuster.
Grant, A. (2015). Lexical borrowing. In J. R. Taylor (Ed.), Oxford handbook of the word (pp. 431–444). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199641604.013.029
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 105–117). SAGE.
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903
Hickey, R. (2001). Language change. In J. Verschueren, J.-O. Östman & J. Blommaert (Eds.), Handbook of pragmatics. John Benjamins. https://www.uni-due.de/SHE/ Language_Change.pdf
Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). (2006). Protecting persons impacted by natural disasters: IASC operational guidelines on human rights and natural disasters. Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement.
Kemp, R. (2020). Replacing the language of fear: Language and communication in DRC’s latest Ebola response. Humanitarian Exchange magazine, No. 77. https://odihpn.org/publication/replacing-the-language-of-fear-language-and-communication-in-drcs-latest-ebola-response
Khumalo, L. (2004). Language contact and lexical change: A lexicographical terminographical interface in Zimbabwean Ndebele. Lexikos, 14(2004), 105–117. https://doi.org/10.4314/lex.v14i1.51413
Kiparsky, P. (2014). New perspectives in historical linguistics. In C. Bowern & B. Evans (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of historical linguistics (pp. 64–102). Routledge.
Kwayedza. (2021, March 12). Detembo: Dzihwamupengo. [Poem: COVID-19.] https://www.kwayedza.co.zw/detembo-dzihwamupengo
Lass, R. (1997). Historical linguistics and language change. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620928
Matsumoto, K. (2019). Language variation and change. In P. Heinrich & Y. Ohara (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Japanese sociolinguistics (pp. 199–217). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315213378-13
Maulana, N., Nyadera, I. N., & Wandekha, B. (2020). The generals and the war against COVID-19: The case of Zimbabwe. Journal of Global Health, 10(2), 020388. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.10.020388
Mehta, V. (2020). The new proxemics: COVID-19, social distancing and sociable space. Journal of Urban Design, 25(6), 669–674. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2020.1785283
Mhanduwe weNhau. (2020, December 12). Dzihwamupengo riri kurura kuzvikoro nomumamana. [COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in schools and communities.] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19JE0pWtys
Mhanduwe weNhau. (2021, January 22). Dzihwamupengo riri kuita humaenzanise munyika. Chigwedere nowamwe wapfa [COVID-19 is meting out justice: Chigwedere [former government minister] and others have died.] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qv-Qz3f2uk
Miller J. E., Tresoldi T., Zariquiey, R., Beltrán Castañón, C. A., Morozova, N., & List, J.-M. (2020). Using lexical language models to detect borrowings in monolingual wordlists. PLoS ONE 15(12), e0242709. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242709
Montana State University. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 background & origins. Montana COVID-19 Blog. https://www.montana.edu/diseaseecologylab/covid19blog/sars-cov-2-background-origins/index.html
Moyo, N. (2017, April 30). MCAZ warns public against “Tsunami”. Sunday News. https://www.pressreader.com/zimbabwe/sunday-news-zimbabwe/20170430/281762744153865
Munsaka, E., Mudavanhu, C., Sakala, L., Manjeru, P., & Matsvange, D. (2021). When disaster risk management systems fail: The case of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 12(5), 689–699. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-021-00370-6
Murewanhema, G. (2021, July 19). Corona yava kuda kuita muonera, chuma chemuzukuru [Collaborative effort is needed to tackle coronavirus]. Health Times. https://healthtimes.co.zw/2021/07/19/corona-yava-kuda--kuita-muonera-pamwe-chuma-chemuzukuru
Mutsaka, F. (2020, March 16). Zimbabwe official says coronavirus punishes US for sanctions. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/africa-international-news-united-states-zimbabwe-virus-outbreak-5289697596801a1907c7b9decddee34a
Ncube, A. L. (2021, July 26). Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa backtracks on COVID-19 vaccine. iHarare. https://iharare.com/prophet-emmanuel-makandiwa-backtracks-on-covid-19-vaccine
Paton, B. (2020, April 9). Social change and linguistic change: The language of COVID-19. OED blog. https://public.oed.com/blog/the-language-of-COVID-19
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Peirce, C. P. (1965). Basic concepts of Peircean sign theory. In M. Gottdiener, K. Boklund- Lagopoulou & A. P. Lagopoulos (Eds.), Semiotics. SAGE.
Popiolek, K. (2020, August 10). Researchers study how COVID pandemic is affecting language change. MSU Today. https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2020/researchers-study- how-covid-pandemic-is-affecting-language-change
ReliefWeb. (2020). Do you speak COVID-19? The importance of language for effective communication across the response. https://reliefweb.int/attachments/663f246a-f6dc-3491-947f-fac59384a270/TWB_PolicyBrief-COVID19.pdf
Riera, J. J. (2021). Semiotic theory. In J. Egbert & M. F. Roe (Eds.), Theoretical models for teaching and research. Press Books. https://opentext.wsu.edu/ theoreticalmodelsforteachingandresearch/chapter/semiotic-theory
Saussure, F. de (1966). Course in general linguistics. Wade Baskin.
Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourses in place: Language in the material world. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203422724
Sebeok, T. A. (2001). Signs: An introduction to semiotics. University of Toronto Press. Sontag, S. (2001). Illness as metaphor and AIDS and its metaphors. Picador.
The Herald. (2020, May 27). 118 escape from isolation centres. https://www.herald.co.zw/118-escape-from-isolation-centres
The Herald. (2021, July 26). COVID-19 positive immigrants escape from isolation. https://www.herald.co.zw/covid-19-positive-immigrants-escape-from-isolation
WebMD (n.d.). Epidemics, pandemics, and outbreaks. https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/what-are-epidemics-pandemics-outbreaks
Wise, A. (2020, April 17). Military metaphors distort the reality of COVID-19. Scientific American. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/military-metaphors-distort-the-reality-of-COVID-19
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods. (4th ed.). SAGE.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Vincent Jenjekwa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
- Abstract 248
- PDF 221
.png){kind=spacer}